I was out and about last Saturday on the hunt for sushi. I stumbled upon eeZ Fusion-Sushi located in the Birkdale Commons in Huntersville, North Carolina. It was a cool, partly sunny Sunday afternoon and I was not particularly hungry, but just looking for a little something “lite” and flavorful.

I should add that when it comes to Japanese food, I know it first hand. I lived in Japan for almost three years and had damn near everything the Japanese had to offer from their culinary plate. I know great Kobe beef and tempera that is fried to perfection. So when we were given this massive sushi menu, my stomach started to turn.

When will restaurants learn that less is more. Have you learned nothing from those restaurant makeover television programs. I know they are a bit cheesy, but the recommendations they offer up, even that obnoxious foul mouth chef Gordon Ramsey are often right on the money.

I have come to the conclusion that poorly prepared food is the fault of the chef and the restaurant owner. First the owner needs to “bloody well” know what type of restaurant they want to have and the chef needs to “bloody well” know how to fix the food; otherwise call it a day!

Anyway, getting back to the sushi, I ordered Tempura Rolls and Tuna Nachos. What the hell was I thinking? Look, if you don’t know how to prepare sushi properly, don’t serve it at all, since there is no substitute and no excuse.  Second, good Tuna is sometimes hard to come by and if you cannot locate it fresh, daily, take if off the menu. I don’t know where they got their Tuna from but here’s an FYI, fresh tuna season runs from late spring to early fall.

Here’s another tip, yellow fin tuna should have a beautiful light red color and will have less tendon as these pieces are cut closer to the center of the tuna as opposed to the tail where more tendon is found. If you receive a piece of tuna with lots of the “tough” tendon, either the chef did not know how to cut the tuna or he purchased an inexpensive cut. A restaurant that cares will only serve tuna cut from the “center” of the yellow-fin.

This is my, second to last complaint and it is a major one. Sushi makers from America, hear me loud and clear. The circumference of your sushi should be no more than 1 inch or 25.4 mm. Period!

A word about the Tuna Nachos. I don’t know if you put mayonnaise or some type of cheese sauce on these little bites of disaster, but neither goes with fish.

White sauce + Fish = Do not serve it!

The Japanese use sushi as a snack food that is tasty and easy to eat. I should never have to struggle to eat sushi. If your waitstaff witnesses customers struggling to eat their sushi, grab it quickly and remake it on the house!

I often give restaurants a do-over, but eeZ Fusion-Sushi will not get a return visit; not because of the tacky Tuna Nachos or the humongous sushi rolls, but because the menus were absolutely filthy and since they were sheets of paper, there is really no excuse. When a menu is soiled, replace it immediately! Duh.